UP: Health Minister stresses upon vaccination of children below 5 yrs

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh while launching a Photo Exhibition celebrating heroes Behind-the-Scenes in Child Health care in the state has called for 100 per cent immunization of the children under the age of five years for better future of the coming generations.

The minister said weak mother or girl delivering baby in young age is also a matter of concern and that is the main reason for weak baby born. Besides malnutrition of both the mother and children was the other prime reason for the child and mother mortality.

He also stressed upon the need to hike the government budget for the health sector to eight per cent of the GDP as compared to just around four per cent now.

" We are eminently shortage of doctors as against the requirement of 18,000 doctors as per the 2001 census, there are just 11,000 doctors and if we account for 2011 census, then the number of doctors requirement is 36,000, which is nearly an impossible task to accomplish," he added.

The minister here on Thursday inaugurated a multimedia exhibition showcasing photos and videos on child health and immunization, Behind-the-Scenes in Child Health organised by Global Health Strategies.

Among the stories highlighted in the exhibit are those of Jaleel Khan, gram pradhan of Shafipur Japti, a village in the district of Kannauj, and Wasim Khan, a local religious leader from the same village. They have together worked tirelessly to spread awareness among the community about the value of immunization.

“Every month, we make announcements from our masjid, calling all the male folk of our community to a meeting right after Jumu’ah ki Namaz [Friday prayers]. We buy fruits and sit together and sensitize them about the importance of immunization,” says Wasim Khan.

“With the help of the imam-sahab, we hold meetings to dispel rumours and encourage the community to vaccinate their children to keep illness at bay. We’ve been able to make a difference and plan to continue our efforts,” says Jaleel Khan.

Also highlighted are the efforts of UP State Immunization Officer, Dr AP Chaturvedi, who used district- and block-level data to employ interventions, such as intensive immunization drives, to improve coverage in targeted regions. In 2014, Mission Indradhanush was launched nationally, based on principles that were being used by Dr. Chaturvedi in the state.

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Dr. Chaturvedi has successfully overseen the introduction and scale up of several new vaccines in UP – from the prevalent vaccine in 2011 to IPV, RVV and finally PCV. He has also played a key role in health systems strengthening at the state level, by institutionalizing review mechanisms at the block-, district- and state-levels.

The photo exhibition is jointly hosted by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Global Health Strategies (GHS) and Child Health Foundation (CHF).

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